ABOVE: Jimmy Davis holds a large trout and red drum — part of a catch he recently made in local waters. LEFT: Tony Harmon shows a 15-pound tripletail he landed Memorial Day while trout fishing in the St. Catherines Sound area. He used a float rig and live shrimp.

Tony Harmon shows a hefty 15-pound tripletail he landed Memorial Day while while trout fishing in the St. Catherines Sound area. His first tripletail, Tony caught it using a float rig and live shrimp. (Special to the Savannah Morning News.

There’s a whole lot to chat about this week as far as saltwater fishing action goes.

However, the first thing on the menu is to make a correction in last week’s update on the June opening of the black sea bass season for the South Atlantic.

For the record, the recreational minimum length limit is 12 inches — not 10 inches, which Kim Iverson, public information officer for the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, who took note along with some others of the error, says that while the recreational minimum recreational limit is 12, the commercial limit continues at 10 and that black sea bass is one of the few, if not the only, species where the recreational and commercial minimum length harvest regulations are different.

The daily catch limit for recreational fishermen stays at 15, which was noted.

An earlier proposal by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) to reduce the daily limit to five continues as a proposal and is expected to be approved sometime during the current season, which runs from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2012.

Where the action is

Back to this week’s catch reports — lots of action, offshore, near-shore and inshore.

From the blue waters of the Gulf Stream to the inshore rivers and creeks, the catch reports are increasing and the action improving as more migratory species show up in area waters.

From billfish to bottom fish, just about every species that can be expected to be caught in area waters this time of year have shown up this week in the catch reports.

We frequently go to Capt. Judy Helmey (Miss Judy Charters) to get a good look at what is happening offshore as well as inshore, and this week she served a full plate of action with some dessert to top it off.

At the Gulf Stream and related blue water areas, the list includes the billfish family along with dolphin, wahoo, blackfin tuna — lots of big fish action.

Snapper Banks

And the Snapper Banks and similar live bottom areas also are currently highly productive.

“The black sea bass bite is excellent, and there are plenty of vermillion snapper and several species of grouper that are harvestable,” she said, also noting other species being available.

Best way to get the bottom fishing into quick action is to start with live bait, which can easily be caught around the offshore reefs, and then switch to cut and artificial, she suggests.

A lot of species are moving into the offshore artificial reef areas, but general size of the majority of bottom feeders, such as black sea bass and others of the snapper/grouper family, remains small.

Spanish mackerel have been on the list for several weeks and continue to be caught over a wide area, both offshore and near-shore.

King mackerel, which have been slow to show up along the Georgia coast, have arrived. Several catches have been reported this week.

King tournament

Speaking of king action, the Fort McAllister Sport Fishing Club will be holding its 10th annual king mackerel tournament this Saturday out of Fort McAllister, located east of Richmond Hill in Bryan County.

Rocky Mallard, spokesman for the group, said the tournament is based on the aggregate weight of two kings, and that first place is guaranteed at $7,500.

Second through fifth place payouts will be based on a minimum of 40 entries with second place worth $3,000 in cash and merchandise, and third through five in cash pay-outs of $2,000, $1,500 and 500, respectively.

Entry fee is $400 per boat, and a mandatory captain’s meeting is slated to be held Friday at Fort McAllister Marina, commencing at 7 p.m. Weigh-in on Saturday will be 5-6 p.m. All boats wanting to weigh in fish must be in line at the weigh-in by 6 p.m. Too, all fish to be considered must be brought to the marina by boat.

For more information on the tournament, contact Mallard at 912-313-0761.

Cobia, sharks

The cobia action is still excellent, with action reported both from the Broad River-Port Royal Sound area, around the buoys leading into the various sounds and offshore around the reefs.

Both sightings and catch reports continue to indicate this will be the best year on record for these migratory fish.

Adam’s Bait shop at Thunderbolt said this week that they still are having difficulty keeping up with the demand for live eels — one of the best live baits on the market for cobia.

For shark fishermen, the season is shaping up to be another banner year, particularly for those going after the big sharks.

The berthing season is well under way and all of the species normally found in area waters are being caught.

According to Captain Judy, the bite with big sharks is excellent, specifically noting that spinner sharks (blacktips) are producing some terrific action, including aerial jumps.

Tripletails

The annual summer run of tripletails apparently is off to a fast start, with several large fish reported taken in over the past several days.

Savannah angler Randy Lockett, who is among the first to seek out the cobia when the run begins each year, is targeting the tripletails in the area of Calibogue Sound between Hilton Head and Daufuskie Island.

Randy already has caught several, including a 13- and a 15-pounder.

Too, Joe Maley, who along with his family operates Sunbury Crab Company Restaurant and Marina in Liberty County, forwarded a photo of Tony Harmon, who on Memorial Day landed a 15-pounder.

Apparently Tony, who manages the Foreign and Domestic Maintenance Customer Program for Gulfstream, was fishing in the St. Catherines Sound area for trout, using a conventional float rig baited with live shrimp when the big tripletail hit.

It was his first tripletail.

Spotted sea trout

Joe added that it was only the second tripletail to be recorded out of the Sunbury marina, and noted that while trout fishing, Tony caught several trout, many of which had to be released due to being undersize.

This report coincides with others received this week that indicate a significant improvement in the spotted sea trout run.

Several big trout have been reported on the catch list, including some surpassing the 6-pound mark. And along with these big fish have come additional reports indicating a vast improvement in the number of spotted sea trout being located.

Every marina, bait supplier and fishing camp contacted this week reported increased trout catch reports that included many yearling throwback — an excellent indicator that the fishery is recovering from last winter’s freeze.

But the caution flags are still flying urging fishermen to release all those trout caught that are 18 inches and larger — that these are the females that will spawn and produce the offspring needed to keep the fishery healthy.

Flounder, reds, pompano

Flounder still are climbing on the catch list, with continued reports of some excellent catches, both in the vicinity of the offshore artificial reefs and also inshore, particularly around the barrier islands and edges of the sounds.

Red drum, both keepers and those too big to keep, continue to be on the action list.

Most of the catch counts this week point to more bull reds being caught than those of keeper size.

Although none of the catch reports told of yearling bass being landed, it is time for the small fish to show up in schools around the edges of the sounds and in the entrances to the river systems.

Another catch of pompano was reported this week by Coffee Bluff Marina. Jay Turner landed a Florida pompano which weighed in at 1 pound, 12 ounces.

Current bait shrimp outlook

The availability of local live shrimp is improving, but some suppliers are still importing shrimp from Florida.

Brown shrimp are showing up in increased numbers in some of the dragging areas, but the overall numbers at this point are below average as far as bait is concerned.

Robert Bacot at Kilkenny Marina in Bryan County said more brownies were being caught, that many already are almost too large for bait purposes, and the that total number being caught were still not sufficient enough to meet the demand — that they were still importing from Florida.